Lori Alexander's Headaches & Brain Tumor Return - MERGE

[2xx1xy1JD]

It sounds like the force and vibrations of coughing or sneezing can disrupt the area where the surgery took place.

With other surgeries, I believe that the issue is often using general anesthetic in a situation where someone's ability to breathe is compromised by excess mucous.

[PokaDot]

I think he was trying to be funny, but failed. I'm not sure if the danger has to do with the surgery, or the location of the tumor... maybe someone else could provide more info. I know you're not supposed to go into surgery if you have even a minor cold. (Maybe related, I know they can give stool softeners with pain meds after brain surgery because some pain meds can cause constipation and they don't want you to get a headache from that.)

ETA: Again... another bout of not questioning the doctor's decision, but if she is at that much risk of recurrence from the fact that they might not have gotten the whole tumor, why jump from MRI in three months then wait another year? Three months is pretty frequent follow-up to me. Why not expand it out more slowly like then every six months for awhile?

Not a doctor, but I would guess the 3 months is to establish a new baseline after swelling has gone done, and the yearly to monitor for changes. Some tumors don't grow significantly enough for 6 month MRIs, hers might be one.

[outrunningzombies]

I think he was trying to be funny, but failed. I'm not sure if the danger has to do with the surgery, or the location of the tumor... maybe someone else could provide more info. I know you're not supposed to go into surgery if you have even a minor cold. (Maybe related, I know they can give stool softeners with pain meds after brain surgery because some pain meds can cause constipation and they don't want you to get a headache from that.)

Sneezing and couging increase intracranial pressure, which is bad post surgery. It could dislodge cots & cause bleeding, for example. It's also bad to increase intracranial pressure pre surgery when the tumor's presence is increasing pressure simply by being there and squeezing stuff. We teach people to sneeze with their mouth open.

Laxatives are given because if you're constipated and bearing down, it increases your intracranial pressure.

He's still an ass and still not funny, though he is correct.

[lilwriter85]

lorialexander.blogspot.com/2013/05/balancing-life-and-death-update-on-lori.html

It's not like most of us think twice about the fine balancing act our bodies carry out each day for us to create an environment where we can survive and thrive. We are learning a lot the past few days as we rush back and forth from the emergency room after Lori crashes because of the intricacies of how sodium, potassium, cortisol, aldosterone, glucose, water, and the list goes on how all must come together in a happy balance.

Sunday and Tuesday Lori's body crashed so we rushed to the ER. A few hours later after a couple of bags of IV fluids they sent us home to try to figure out on our own. Is your sodium too low, eat more salt and drink less; if too high, drink more and eat less salt. If Lori has Diabetes Insipidus keep up the fluids and salt intake, if she has SIADH slow down the fluids, and if she has low cortisol, take some Hydrocortisone. No daily blood test is recommended for this guessing game, just get to the hospital if the patient crashes.

As I write, Lori seems to be doing a little better this hour, but just an hour ago she thought she was starting to crash again. Maybe the cortisol is working? Fortunately, very few people die of this exercise after pituitary brain surgery, it's just a few really scary hours now and again. Please pray that Lori's body finds homeostasis on its own without the need for testing all the various possibilities and long term hormone replacements.

I cannot help but relate this to my spiritual life. I know I am probably alone in confessing that I am always trying to balance out my life, with one big foot planted squarely in God's Kingdom and the other trying to run around with the cares of the world, and seeking worldly fun and pleasures. For the many moms and wives out there, your balancing act is so much more difficult than mine, and getting everything to line up so that it works the way we want it to seems so impossible... because it is impossible!

If Lori's body doesn't kick in at some point and begin doing its own balancing act, she will be doomed to a guessing game of how much of each hormone or other substance to give herself so that an hour later her bodily fluids and organs are all stable and functioning harmoniously together. It is the head, from which all the signals come that must control the body sending out the ADH, TSH, ATCH, Protactin to tell the body to do its part in producing Cortisol, Aldosterone, T3, T4 which make the body work.

Each day our Spiritual Head, Christ Jesus, is sending signals to us so that me may produce the fruit of the Spirit {which} is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness,goodness, meekness, temperance and faith. If we are not in His Word daily, or continually listening to Him speak, then our spiritual lives and earthly lives soon deteriorate and we need some quick IV's to pick us up, maybe even a transfusion.

There is but one way to gain homeostasis in the Christian life and that is to stop trying and start living as a New Creature in Christ. To believe that the old man is dead, gone and buried with Christ, and that we have risen to a new imperishable life where we can walk with Jesus and talk with Him each and every moment of the day. We are no longer of this world, but we live in a new and glorious kingdom, and no matter what happens around us, no matter how bad our day, no matter how close to death we come, we are His and He is mine. This is not a future reality, this is to be our here and now reality. God in us, the hope of glory takes place each and every moment we believe it to be true.

I like being dead in Christ. Dead things do not care about the things of this world ... so much :) ... but instead when life balance is off, and deadlines are missed; when the hospital bills climb through the roof, and consulting trips get canceled; when babies are breech and Lori is so ill ..., I know that this New Creature lives and breathes Christ Jesus. For how can not we do any other, especially after all the difficulties and disasters of life He has carried us through, and all the myriad of bountiful promises that God makes to us.

The most comforting thing to know, and the truth that must be planted deep within every believing soul, is that God always keeps His promises. On this we can stake our health, our loved ones and our own lives. God will always be true to Himself, and in turn He will be true to us, who He calls His beloved children.

[littlemommy]

That sounds horrible, poor woman. "I like being dead in Christ"...wtf.

[Loveday]

That sounds horrible, poor woman. "I like being dead in Christ"...wtf.

That jumped out at me, too. Isn't it supposed to be 'alive in Christ?' :? Unless you're actually dead, and you died a believer. Then it's 'the dead in Christ.'

Much as I dislike Lori, I hope things get better for her.

[flyawaystray]

That doesn't sound right. The woman just had brain surgery and the ER said to go home and figure it out? Makes noooo sense.

[Rita]

Either they are running out of the hospital without permission, or he doesn't know what's going on.

Also, he really said, "I know I am probably alone in confessing that I am always trying to balance out my life"? Seriously, dude? Watching someone you care about be near death does indeed make you feel all alone, and I'm sorry you are having feelings, but get off your pedestal.

[lilwriter85]

Lori just posted that her tumor isn't gone.

lorialexander.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-tumor-is-not-gone.html

We traveled up to USC for my post-op MRI on Tuesday. Unfortunately, my tumor is still there. It is about half the size that it was before surgery so we don't know if the surgeon only cut out half or it grew back quickly. We think the surgeon only cut out half.

My tumor from nine years ago just fell out so the surgeon did not have to try and cut anything away. This time the tumor is still classified as a grade one, slow growing tumor but it didn't just fall out. In the ICU, my surgeon came to me and told me he got out what he felt he could comfortably remove. He wanted me to be able to sit up and talk to him and not disable me in any way.

The tumor is located in a very delicate area called the sella turcica, the small boney socket behind the bridge of the nose that normally houses a dangling pituitary, the master hormone control gland at the base of the brain. The tumor is covering the carotid artery, smushing my pituitary, and just below my optic nerve. The surgeon couldn't dig around these areas without potentially killing me or debilitating me for life. The tumor is made up of diseased dura cells that have infiltrated the healthy dura cells and you can't differentiate the tumor cells from the healthy cells with the naked eye.

Obviously this was very devastating news to us. We go back in a week to see a radiologist oncologist to see about radiation. This isn't a cancerous tumor but a meningioma in a very hard to get to area. I am a rare case with very few documented meningiomas growing up out of the base of the sella pituitary region.

Our next course of action looks like it will be radiation which will most likely kill my pituitary and may make my vision worse the doctor told us. I will keep you posted on what happens next. In the meantime, I am going to continue running this blog as much as I can. I have heard with radiation, one is just tired. This blog is a good distraction for me and I love writing when I am up to it.

Continue to email me problems and asking me for advice. I will answer when I am up to it. I would appreciate prayers for wisdom as we search out the best therapy, for my gut and sinus infection and headaches to be healed {all the result from brain surgery}, and peace and strength from the Lord.

It is definitely a scary time for us but we continue to place our faith and hope in the Lord. He is carrying me right now. He has been faithful in the past, and I know He will continue to be faithful and give me His strength. For when I am weak, He is strong.

Much love to all of my faithful and supportive readers,

Lori

[sparkles]

I would never wish bad things on anyone (okay, there's a VERY small list) and I certainly hope there's a good outcome for her, as she's still a much-loved wife, mother, grandmother and so forth, but TBH I'm really having a hard time drumming up a lot of sympathy for her. She's such a hateful person.

But karma's a bitch and as someone who will be undergoing cyberknife radiosurgery for an acoustic neuroma (benign and technically not a brain tumor but too damn close for comfort, thank you very much), I'll just wish her well and leave it at that. I wonder if cyberknife would be an option for her too.

[kpmom]

I'll wish her the best, but I don't think I'll be emailing her and asking her for advice any time soon.

[Mudball]

My first thought honestly was "thank heavens it's her brain and not a reproductive system tumor because a tumor there might mean she has to say 'no' to sex". :roll:

I hope she is ok. I've heard of ppl with brain tumors becoming mean, maybe she will become nice.

Sparkles> I have a close family member that had that surgery and he's doing wonderfully. I hope you have much success with your surgery. :)

[sparkles]

Sparkles> I have a close family member that had that surgery and he's doing wonderfully. I hope you have much success with your surgery. :)

/temporary thread derail

Mudball, thanks. Always good to hear success stories! My tumor is relatively small and so far I'm not experiencing symptoms aside from the hearing loss and tinnitus--no vertigo or balance issues, thank the FSM--so I'm optimistic.

/We know return you to your regularly scheduled Lori (Alexander is a Monster) pile-on.

[curlytoes79]

I would never wish bad things on anyone (okay, there's a VERY small list) and I certainly hope there's a good outcome for her, as she's still a much-loved wife, mother, grandmother and so forth, but TBH I'm really having a hard time drumming up a lot of sympathy for her. She's such a hateful person.

Agreed. I don't like her at all, but nobody deserves a brain tumor. Except maybe Hitler or Justin Bieber or something.

[lilwriter85]

I would never wish bad things on anyone (okay, there's a VERY small list) and I certainly hope there's a good outcome for her, as she's still a much-loved wife, mother, grandmother and so forth, but TBH I'm really having a hard time drumming up a lot of sympathy for her. She's such a hateful person.

But karma's a bitch and as someone who will be undergoing cyberknife radiosurgery for an acoustic neuroma (benign and technically not a brain tumor but too damn close for comfort, thank you very much), I'll just wish her well and leave it at that. I wonder if cyberknife would be an option for her too.

I also have a hard time sympathizing with Lori. She really annoyed me sometime back when she whined about more women working in health care than men. Even I don't work in health care, I would be annoyed if I was in the field knowing that there are people out there that are upset about more women being in health care than men. There are some great men working in health care, but we all know without women working in that field there would be shortages that would hurt everyone in the long run.

[kpmom]

I also have a hard time sympathizing with Lori. She really annoyed me sometime back when she whined about more women working in health care than men. Even I don't work in health care, I would be annoyed if I was in the field knowing that there are people out there that are upset about more women being in health care than men. There are some great men working in health care, but we all know without women working in that field there would be shortages that would hurt everyone in the long run.

And no doubt much of her care has been provided by women. You'd think she'd be grateful, but then this is Lori we're talking about.

[docmom]

And no doubt much of her care has been provided by women. You'd think she'd be grateful, but then this is Lori we're talking about.

Maybe SSM's alpha male husband will be her nurse...

[Artemis]

I thought about a post about why I don't sympathise with Lori, and then I decided she wasn't worth the energy, the time or the emotion.

[salex]

I thought about a post about why I don't sympathise with Lori, and then I decided she wasn't worth the energy, the time or the emotion.

If our roles were reversed she'd probably think I was being punished for something...

[dilannsmom]

I just hope that this doesn't make her so tired she can't put out whenever Ken the hornball wants it. :nanner-sex:

[littlemommy]

But his sperm has pain reducing qualities or something! Or maybe it reduces inflammation. Ugh, Ken.

[anniebgood]

Is she in CA going to USC or South Carolina? USC Norris Cancer Center is one of the most prominent in the nation.

I don't wish mengionoma on anyone. I knew a little girl who's tumor was outside her body, started as a lesion on her neck and before surgery she looked like the Elephant Man. She had so many courses of steroids that the doctor's don't know if she will have a normal puberty. She's fine now. But the parents keep watch on any new unknown lesions because just because it's gone now, does not mean it won't return.

[dairyfreelife]

Is she in CA going to USC or South Carolina? USC Norris Cancer Center is one of the most prominent in the nation.

I don't wish mengionoma on anyone. I knew a little girl who's tumor was outside her body, started as a lesion on her neck and before surgery she looked like the Elephant Man. She had so many courses of steroids that the doctor's don't know if she will have a normal puberty. She's fine now. But the parents keep watch on any new unknown lesions because just because it's gone now, does not mean it won't return.

She lives around San Diego, so USC in CA.

[Koala]

I hate it...I truly do. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

[Vex]

It makes me really angry, the way she relies on modern medicine to save HER, but for anyone else it's icky and bad.

Yes, antibiotics tend to be over-prescribed (although from what I've heard, doctors are correcting the trend). Yes, antibiotics can make you very sick. I am not allergic to them per se, but I do tend to violently vomit and get hives from antibiotics.

However, it's even more dangerous to NOT take them in many situations.

After I had an arthroscopy on my knee, I picked up a staph infection. I told my surgeon that I vomit when I take antibiotics and he prescribed them anyway, telling me to stop taking them if I vomited. Well, I did throw up and I stopped taking them. I already had so much pain and swelling that I couldn't move my leg, but after another week my knee was dripping yellow-green pus. I was admitted to hospital and my knee was cleaned out. I had to stay there for two weeks with IV antibiotics (always taken with anti-emetics) and then I had to take antibiotics orally for another 2 months (again, with anti-emetics).

3 years later I still suffer from debilitating pain in my knee. It's never healed right. So when I see Lori advocating not taking antibiotics and taking lemon and honey instead if pisses me off. If I'd taken her advice I could have gone septic, or the infection could have set deeply into the bone (it had already begun to set in when I had it cleaned out).

Of course it's terrible that she has a brain tumor. I can't imagine what she felt like hearing it had returned, but she cannot be self-diagnosing her own conditions or anyone else's. These idiots actually follow her advice and one day it might cost someone their life.